By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Ozark sophomore Tyler Harmon found himself in the perfect spot.
At the free throw line, looking to ice Ozark’s victory, and a chance to show his competitive side.
He swished the first attempt and yelled in excitement.
He drained the second try (putting Ozark up five with four seconds left), turned around and yelled to no one in particular as he headed back on defense.
“I was ecstatic,” Harmon said. “Just seeing that ball go in and knowing that (sealed) the win. That was clutch.”
Ozark coach Mark Schweitzer wasn’t surprised.
“His competitive side, that’s consistent. Every day,” Schweitzer said. “He’s relentless.”
Harmon sparked Ozark’s fourth-quarter comeback as the Tigers defeated Kickapoo 63-61 on Friday night.
Ozark trailed by as much as 10 early in the second half. Harmon had 11 of his team-high 16 points in the fourth quarter.
“Amazing win,” Harmon said. “Especially to get it done here, at their place.”
Harmon’s back-to-back 3-pointers gave Ozark a 51-50 lead early in the fourth quarter after the Tigers had trailed for much of the game.
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Ozark extended its lead to 56-50 on a trey by Kyle Flavin and a Harmon putback. Kickapoo drew within 58-56 with under a minute to go, but Harmon answered with two free throws and Ozark then made a stop on defense.
Three other Tigers – AJ Elliott (14), Flavin (10) and Ethan Whatley (9) – all scored nine or more.
Only a sophomore, Harmon has emerged as a leader for a young Ozark squad.
“I always tell our kids, ‘If I’m the one who wants to win the most, we’re in trouble,’” Schweitzer said. “I’ve had teams where I’ve questioned it, because I’m kind of fiery too. I think I’ve met my match. (Harmon) wants to win as bad as I do.
“I won’t say he wants to win (more) because it’s a competition. But he can get there.”
Kickapoo junior Anton Brookshire led all players with 33 points. He scored 21 in the first half to give the Chiefs a 30-25 halftime lead.
“We were guarding him,” Schweitzer said. “It wasn’t like he was getting open looks. I thought our kids did a good job of competing while they were guarding him. He’s just that good.”
Ozark had lost eight straight meetings against Kickapoo from 2013-17. After Friday night’s win, the Tigers have now won three of the last four meetings with the Chiefs.
Ozark (4-2 overall) hadn’t played since a heartbreaking overtime loss at Har-Ber (Ark.) on Dec. 13. Schweitzer said the Tigers also lost a winnable game against Park Hill South in the Republic Invitational on Dec. 6.
“We learned and I think those two games helped us get this win tonight,” Schweitzer said. “We progressed.”
Both Ozark and Kickapoo return to action next week in the Blue and Gold Tournament (Dec. 26-30) on the Missouri State University campus.
Ozark 63, Kickapoo 61
Ozark 12 12 19 20 — 63
Kickapoo 14 16 16 15 — 61
Ozark (4-2 overall) – Tyler Harmon 16, AJ Elliott 14, Kyle Flavin 10, Ethan Whatley 9, Blaine Cline 5, Alonzo Riwa 4, Owen Brockman 3, Cannon Cox 2
Kickapoo (3-2 overall) – Anton Brookshire 33, Elijah Bridgers 10, Cary Ragan 8, Cross Elmquist 5, Micah McIntire 3, Zach McKinnis 2
